Debuting lightweights Perviz Abdullayev (41-4-0, Azerbaijan) and Aziz Kallah (10-4-0, Dutch-Moroccan) opened the GLORY 26 AMSTERDAM Superfight Series card with a high-paced and technical fight which showcased their wide range of skills. Abdullayev's style has a heavy Tae Kwon Do influence while Kallah's is Muay Thai-based, which made for an interesting contrast.
Both were busy with their hands, but the difference in styles was apparent in their kicking. Much of Abdullayev's was fast but flicky, while Kallah's involved push kicks and the much heavier round-kicks used by Thai fighters and Dutch kickboxers.
Kallah had the youth advantage â 23 years old as against 29 â but was largely outworked by the busier Abdullayev, who also scored big points with the crowd when he hit a hard spinning back-kick to the head in the second round. Kallah got a warning from the referee in that round for repeatedly clinch-throwing his opponent, a technique legal in Muay Thai but not under GLORY rules.
Abdullayev returned the favor in the third round, which saw both fighters increasingly fall into the clinch as their high workrate tired them. His second spinning head-kick attempt of the fight missed this time, while Kallah scored with a nice right straight which snapped his head back.
Statistics at the end of three rounds showed that Abdullayev had thrown and landed a lot more than Kallah, in punches and kicks. His efforts were recognized by the judges, who awarded him a unanimous decision win. He now rises to 41-4 with 14 KO's while Kallah sees his record drop to 10-4 with 4 KO's.
Perviz Abdullayev def. Aziz Kallah, Unanimous Decision, R3 (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
